Lorry

The word "only" is the big mistake here, as mentioned by 3numbas these 3 are what most people will die from. In Thailand, even in the big cities fast access to good medical care is unpredictable. People have collapsed on the doorsteps of Bumrungrad and the first responders brought them to the police hospital (travel insurance had them transferred back to Bumrungrad). A guy I know had a life-threatening emergency on the zebra crossing from soi 2 to soi 3. He was brought to the most distant international hospital because they paid the highest commission (he survived). But in a remote village, your chances are very poor: first, the famously smart villagers have to discuss what to do - 1 hour. Second, find transport - 2 more hours. Then discuss cost of transport - is 500 baht too much to save a life? Can't it be done for 300 baht? The concept of "urgency" is not well known in rural Thailand. And finally it's a trip to the district hospital (30 beds), then to the provincial capital (can take 2 or 3 hours). And not all provincial hospitals are very good. In Western Europe, response time to get EVT (big stroke) or cath lab (HA) is ideally measured more in minutes than in hours. Here, it's days - if at all. My personal choice: 15km max paved road from a decent provincial hospital like Surin or Kamphaeng Phet (not something like Ranong or Amnat), 50km if I own a car. And some possibility of transport to a big city (this pretty much rules out Ranong or Kamphaeng). There once was a young poster from Umpang who discussed this dilemma - yes, it's nice to live in Umpang. But you don't want an accident there. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

People posting here should read the guides to exotic cultures (Germany, Japan, US...) written for Thais. Whenever Thais ask me for an example of hard-to- understand farang culture I tell them how we would get angry at a drawer that won't open (or car that won't start, a vending machine that doesn't work etc). I have yet to find a single Thai who understands why anybody would shout at a drawer, kick a car or beat a vending machine. Have you ever told a Thai how many Americans and Europeans seriously believe in immaculate conception? Obviously, farang are "primitive societies which mix animism and magic with" lack of scientific understanding of furnitures, machines, and human biology, as another poster said.

Same here. The BMA's recommendation to see a doctor is funny. Will the doctor prescribe a holiday in the Swiss Alps (Bangkok AQI 200, Swiss mountains AQI 3) or on a Norwegian beach?

Yes, but if your order is high enough to qualify for free shipping you run the risk of having to pay import duty

Bangkok 10-15 days

Same here. About 10 years ago, customs began to be a pia. So all people I know now keep their orders low, not over 45 or 50 USD per package. Otherwise you may have to travel to a post office (and it may not be the nearest one) to pay 500 baht import duty, takes the better part of a day.

The unspeakable four-letter word, not an option for people from the Land of the Free!

I have the same problem. I am going to buy an external meter from Xiaomi, my air purifiers are from Hatari. A friend has a Xiaomi external meter, the results are in line with the websites (aqicn, iqair) and with the visibility of the air.

As we all know, Yinglucks corrupt government subsidized rice. The honest and incorruptible government that followed subsidized sugar cane, because they wanted to do away with the rice schemes. So, within a few years Thailand became (from a low base) one of the biggest sugar producers worldwide. We breathe the results. You can't really expect this same government to prohibit harvesting the sugar cane they promoted in the most profitable way?

Most of tourists in CM are Chinese. They would complain if the air wouldn't be of the quality they are used to.

That's all true, but a medevac from Phuket to Castleford (wherever that is) really doesn't cost 250,000 GBP. IP has already been stabilized and is in a good hospital. Prices vary a lot, reckon between 60,000 and 130,000 GBP. Now, if you add the cost for Bangkok Phuket Hospital you will easily hit 250,000 GBP, the sky is the limit. See this thread

The idea that back packers discovered anything and the masses followed is quite hilarious. I admit former backpackers like this myth. As I said, tourism is an industry. It needs investments, same as when you build a factory: - real hotels. Marriott is not an upgraded bamboo hut, it's something different from a bamboo hut. - flights: Emirates is not just a bit bigger than Royal Brunei. And how come Bangkok can easily be reached from any European city, often non-stop, whereas traveling to Karachi or Manila is more difficult than it was 30 years ago? These are political decisions, not made by backpackers. - promotion in the source countries: Europeans didn't learn about Thailand by word of mouth, they studied the TUI and Thomas Cook brochures. Right now, these brochures promote almost nothing but Thailand. So people come to Thailand. The Russians, Chinese and Indians, the biggest groups of tourists, don't even know what a backpacker is (I exaggerate).

There is a thread on "the new Skytrain" and AFAIR dates have been postponed to 2024 (or was it 2042?)

Don't you contradict what you said before? (Former) backpackers like to believe that they were the spearhead of mass tourism. That is not the case,. The tourism industry is an industry. A nice 45-storey beach resort, as known from Hainan and now all over Asia. A nonstop 747 from Europe, not a 3-stop cheapy with Royal Brunei, the backpackers' choice. Mass tourism needs mass investment, like the Americans did during the war.

The bombing of Vietnam created the base of Thai tourism. R&R in Pattaya, bombers starting from Udon, hiways 2 and 24 (without which there would be no Isan girls for the tourists) built by the US and so on.... People really forget?

No. Nothing less than 500,000, they always find a way toad the bill. Easily 1m, if ICU necessary several millions. The people who think it's cheap are the Americans. Multiply Australian prices by 3 or more to get US prices

Pattaya has shops that sell big size shoes (size 11 was no problem, much easier than Bangkok). Can't remember the details, though.

I personally know of 3 occasions where TGF returned serious amounts of money (500,000 baht and 1m baht, 10 years ago). But it wasn't "sent" to them, those were unsecured loans. I also know of several lesser loans to TGFs that were repaid, between 20,000 and 100,000 baht. I don't personally know anyone who has been cheated by TGFs out of more than 20,000 (which is bad enough). But then, I don't live in Pattaya.

The same happened to me once, too.

No, that still happened around 2005 or 2010

Sodium means salt (= sodium chloride), so the test is "does it taste salty"? Thai food tastes very salty compared to Chinese food, which is always too bland if you are used to Thai food. The salty liquids mentioned in the article are consumed by the gallon. That they are unhealthy is obvious to anyone who still has some remnants of natural feelings for nutrition (not to Americans and Brits). They are tasty, though, I like them a lot.

If OP resides in Pattaya, there many Ugandans working there. Easily recognizable as they look quite different from the usual Russians and Chinese. I would talk to them. I was told by one of them that it was easy to get a 3-months-visa in Uganda. But OP didn't even tell us whether his fiancé (that is a man, BTW, not a girlfriend as someone erroneously wrote) right now is in Uganda, or in the US, or In Ushuaia. He also didn't tell us whether 3 months would satisfy his needs.

Yes, Finnair cheated me out of 600 €. They canceled my ticket and that was it. No reason given. (Actually, the reason was quite obvious: I had bought the ticket during covid. Later they realized they could still sell these tickets for 1200€, so they raised prices and canceled my existing ticket and my reservation) They don't have an email address, on the phone they just told me the ticket would be canceled with no refund (they offered a voucher in which I wasn't interested), I sent them a registered letter to their physical address and didn't get an answer. My insurance reimbursed 500€, so I didn't pursue the issue.

It's between Soi 13 and Soi 15

Yes, you can